Roadside stand



Aug. 30, 1949, H. KING 2,480,412

ROADS IDE STAND Filed NOV. 24, 1947 Huber? King INVENTOR.

Ailey:

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNITED STATE s PATENT :F FIC'E 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a portable roadside stand which is especially, but-not necessarily, adapted to be used as a practical and effective support for rural free delivery mail boxes,

and is intended to take the place of stationary 1 postsand equivalent supports such as are currentlyemployed in rural areas.

.It is a matter of common knowledge thatrural mail boxesare usually supported on posts anchore'dln. the ground near the margins of the roadway so that they will be more readily :accessible and usable by mail carriers. It is also a known fact that such roadways are graded and repaired from time to time and are, in addition, widened and in many instances the direction of the road is shifted. It follows, therefore, that road crews are constantly confronted with the problem of what to do with the stationary posts. Under certain conditions the posts have to be extracted and again anchored to meet the changing situation; whereas, under other circumstances the crews work near and around the posts leaving adjacent unworked spots.

Confronted with the foregoing road repair and post removal difficulties, I believe that it would be practical and satisfactory, to all persons concerned, to dispense with the use of permanent posts and to substitute therefor a portable stand, a stand which is especially constructed to meet the requirements of all concerned.

In carrying out the principles of the invention I provide a simple and economical portable stand which is constructed of pipes and rods and appropriate complemental couplings and fixtures, the complete stand being characterized by a boxsupporting frame and legs which are both angularly and. vertically adjustable.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mail box supporting or so-called roadside stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view.

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of one corner of the stand.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 3-4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Reference is had now to Figure 1 wherein the main frame, which is preferably rectangular, is

denoted by'the' numeral 6 and is adapted to -support "a"'rur al' freedelivery mail box I, the latter to beattached'to the frame in any suitable and satisfactory =manner. The frame is preferably madeup of pairs of longitudinal and transverse pipe sections 3 ands, respectively. Whereas it may be possible to construct the frame in one piece form, it is here-shownas made up-of four pip'e sectionsthese being separably connected by 'elbow type corner situated couplings It. The frame is 'adjustably supported by four ilegsxdenoted by the numeral H. Each leg is the same in construction and the description of one will suffice for all. The upper leg section I2 comprises a length of pipe which, as shown in Figure 4, has its upper end screw-threaded at 13. Telescoping into the lower portion of the leg section I2 is an extensible and retractible rod It. The rod section [4 is adjusted and held in different adjusted positions by way of a set screw l5 carried by the upper leg section i2. Also, the lower end of the rod is screw-threaded as shown at I6 in Figure 2 and is screwed into a screw-threaded socket I! provided in a ball-shaped foot IS. The part I8 is preferably in the form of a weight which, in conjunction with the remainder of the structure serves to prevent the stand from toppling over, that is, under ordinary circumstances and conditions.

The upper threaded end of the pipe or upper leg section i2 is detachably and adjustably shackled on the frame 6. This is accomplished through the medium of a cap including a plate portion IS with apertured lugs 29 and a central screw-threaded socket 2! into which said portion i3 is detachably fastened. I also employ a clevis 22 which embraces the coupling ID and which has its screw-threaded end portion 23 passing through apertures in said lugs 20 to accommodate assembling and clamping nuts 24. This cap and clevis assembly provides an effective clamp "and the plate portion is properly grooved to seat the coupling It as brought out in Figure 4. Obviously, by loosening the clevis, which is done by backing off the clamping nuts 24, it is possible to angle the leg H in the desired direction to assume an effective supporting angle. It follows too, that all of the legs are thus detachable and adjustable to accommodate irregularities in the surface of the ground for other supporting base. What is more, the rods l4 are telescopically adjustable to level the frame and to consequently level the box I or other part which is mounted thereon.

Although the frame 6 is said to include elbow couplings at the corners it is obvious that a one piece frame, as before mentioned, may be employed.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the inven-, tion as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed asnew is:

1. In a portable roadside stand of the class described, a horizontal mail box supporting frame, and a plurality of supporting legs for said frame, clamps attached to the upper ends of said legs and adjustably and detachably connected to corner portions of said frame, each leg comprising an upper tubular portion and a rod portion slidable in said tubular portion, said rod portion being provided on its lower end with a ball-weight, whereby the overall weight of said stand, accentuated by the ball-weights, renders same substantially topple-proof.

2. A roadside stand of a knockdown portable and self-standing type comprising a rectangular frame for horizontal disposition embodying pairs 4 of longitudinal and transverse pipe sections threaded at opposite ends and connected together by elbow-type couplings, a plurality of supporting legs for said frame, each leg embodying a length of pipe, a cap on the upper end of said pipe, said cap having apertured lugs carrying a clevis and said clevis embracing and adjacent one of said couplings whereby said pipe length is detachably connected with the cap and the cap is detachably connected with the coupling, a rod section mounted in each pipe length and adjustably held therein, said rod section constituting an extensible and retractible member, the lower end of said rod sections being screw threaded, and a comparatively heavy foot in the form of a. ball weight, said weight having a screw threaded socket into which the lower screw threaded end of said rod section is screwed.

HUBERT KING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 192,011 Richardson June 12, 1877 577,829 Brown Feb, 23, 1897 1,790,476 Johnson Jan. 27, 1931 2,036,113 Befera Mar. 31, 1936 2,338,092 Brown Jan. 4, 1944 

